The factors affecting the beginning of urbanism are likely to have been several, and to have varied according to local conditions (Trigger 1972, 1985), especially the ‘political, cultural and regional setting’ (Seidlmayer 1996b: 126). The growth of large towns in Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period may have been partly for defensive reasons (Trigger 1984:103), although it doubtless facilitated central control of the population by state authorities (Seidlmayer 1996b: 113). The nucleation of settlement at
Hierakonpolis may have been the result of climatic and/or ecological factors (Hoffman 1976:41). What is clear is that urbanism both reflected, and was made possible by, the large-scale changes which took place within Egyptian society during the Predynastic period. Increasing social stratification, the production of agricultural surpluses and the redistribution of these resources by the local elite enabled a section of the population to become engaged in full-time non-agricultural activity. The trend of craft specialisation was undoubtedly fostered by the demands of the elite and ultimately encompassed the development of writing and the growth of a literate scribal class engaged in administration. No longer tied to the land, a significant section of society could now benefit from living and working in a more compact form of settlement. Such a move would have been particularly advantageous to a nascent administration, allowing for more effective central storage of agricultural produce. Even after the unification of Egypt, local aristocracies—such as are attested, perhaps, by the elite First Dynasty mastabas at Tarkhan and the Third Dynasty mastabas at Beit Khallaf—may have continued to exert significant influence over their communities, and this factor should also be borne in mind when considering early urbanisation (Kemp, personal communication). Furthermore, the role of cult centres in the beginnings of urbanism should not be overlooked (Trigger 1972:590-1; Hoffman 1980:307-8). The site of a local shrine would have provided a natural focus for activity, particularly if the local elite depended upon intimate association with the supernatural to maintain its authority. The archaeological evidence at Hierakonpolis suggests that the location of an important shrine was one of the factors responsible for the growth of the early town (Hoffman 1980:307).
Regional differences
Fundamental though it was, urbanism did not take place simultaneously in all regions of Egypt (Kemp 1977:196, 198). It appears to have begun in Upper Egypt, where socioeconomic change had been most rapid and where the process of state formation was initiated. Hence, the earliest domestic mudbrick architecture has been found at Hierakonpolis and Naqada (Petrie and Quibell 1896; Weeks 1971-2), the leading centres of Predynastic Upper Egypt. Based upon the available evidence, the settlement pattern in Middle Egypt seems to have been less affected by changes in late Predynastic society. However, this apparent situation may reflect the poor preservation of archaeological sites in Middle Egypt—due to geological factors, encroachment of sand dunes from the western desert, and the movement of the Nile channel—rather than the true extent of urban development in the region. Throughout the Nile valley, the major settlements appear to have been located on the west bank of the river. The apparent absence of significant sites from the west bank in Middle Egypt has undoubtedly influenced our view of the region; it may have been more flourishing in ancient times than the surviving evidence suggests. Indeed, until the dates of foundation of important later centres like Hermopolis and Herakleopolis have been established, we will remain ignorant of early urbanism in Middle Egypt. A reference to Herakleopolis on the Palermo Stone, in an entry dating to the reign of Den, suggests that the town may have been founded before the First Dynasty. On the east bank of the Nile, in the Matmar-Qau region, there is little evidence for the growth of urban centres until the Old Kingdom, when administrative developments connected with the royal court resulted in the growth of el-Etmania (O’Connor 1972:93-4). The demography of the Memphite region was undoubtedly dominated by the foundation of Memphis itself, marking the imposition of central authority and control by the new national administration. There is increasing evidence that urbanism was well advanced in the Delta in late Predynastic times (contra Janssen 1978:216). Recent excavations have demonstrated the importance of sites like Buto and Mendes in the Predynastic period (see below), whilst other centres such as Sais and Bubastis are likely to have been significant before the incorporation of the Delta into a unified kingdom (Kaiser 1986:1071). The appearance of mudbrick architecture in Delta settlements (van den Brink 1989; Wilkinson 1996b: 95) is likely to mark a fundamental change in the structure of Lower Egyptian society (von der Way 1993:96) and probably indicates the incorporation of the region into an expanding Upper Egyptian polity. ‘From this moment the spread of urbanism in the north could well have been closely parallel to that in Upper Egypt’ (Kemp 1995:687). The variable pace of urbanisation in different regions of the country emphasises the importance of local factors in the process of state formation (Wilkinson 1996b: 86-90).
Topographical and ecological factors
The most favoured location for settlements in Egypt, in ancient times as today, would have been the floodplain of the Nile. The river provided not only supplies of fresh water but also the most efficient means of transport and communication within the country (O’Connor 1972:79). However, the alluvium was prone to inundation, and it would therefore have been preferable to locate settlements on raised areas of land, beyond the reach of the floodwaters. In Upper Egypt, Predynastic settlements developed on isolated hillocks or abandoned levees within the floodplain, or on the margins of the low desert. The majority of early settlements which were located within the floodplain now lie under deposits of alluvium, and are covered either by fields or by modern towns and villages. As a result, few settlements have been excavated in Egypt, compared to the numerous cemeteries which lie along the desert edge and which are therefore much more accessible to archaeologists. In the earlier phases of the Predynastic period, marginal settlements at a number of sites, notably Hierakonpolis, spread back into the desert, following the edges of major wadis until the limits of cultivation were reached (Hoffman 1980:148). These desert-edge communities would have depended largely upon herding, the savannahs of the now arid low desert providing pasturage for flocks. The desiccation of these pasturages following the end of the Neolithic subpluvial, accompanied by a change to agriculture as the principal subsistence base, probably led to the widespread relocation of settlements to the floodplain. This may account for the demise of Maadi towards the end of the Naqada II period (see Chapter 10). The settlements that remained at the edge of the cultivation are likely to have been ‘functionally rather specialized’ (O’Connor 1972:79; cf. R. Friedman 1994:322), perhaps serving as administrative or symbolic centres, like Naqada South Town. However, with very few exceptions, it is such desert-edge settlements that have been studied in detail. It is important to remember this bias in the evidence when examining early urbanism in Egypt. We must admit that, to date, our picture of urban development is far from complete. Within the general setting of the Nile valley, the first urban centres seem to have developed in locations ‘favored by their overseas trading possibilities and by their economic hinterlands’ (Bietak 1979:129).
Chapter 10 explores the role of geographical and ecological factors in the growth of important regional centres. A settlement located at a strategic point in the course of the Nile - such as a natural constriction of the valley (for example, Memphis), or an intersection between the river and desert routes (perhaps the early town of This)—would have been in a position to control trade, and to function as an entrepot for goods.
World History
